My Love Is Away On High Seas
by UnderTheMoonlitDay
Summary: When Private Emma Swan is sent away on her first tour, Regina thinks she will never see the woman she loves again. But when Emma returns six months later with injuries that extend passed her physical body, it's up to Regina to try to heal her as best as she can. Based on the song Tha Mo Gaol Air Aird A Chuan by Julie Fowlis
1. Emma

Every night I watched her go down to the docks. She would survey her surroundings with those soulful brown eyes of hers, and when she was sure no one was watching, she would let her shoulders fall. The pain would show on her face as she let her guard down. She would walk over to one of the benches and stare out at the sea for about five minutes, before she would pull out that ragged red leather coat and play with it in her shaking hands. She never said a word, she would just sit there staring out at the water and allow the tears to fall from her eyes. I'd been watching her for a week and she never said anything. So neither did I.

I remember the night I left as clear as it was yesterday.

 _Mary Margaret was crying as she squeezed me tighter. In all my life, I never imagined how hard it would be to make my mother let go of me. I never wanted to leave her warm, safe embrace. But I had to._

 _"_ _Mom, I have to go," I mumbled, freeing myself from her hug finally. I couldn't look at her sad green eyes. David approached me next and hugged me, softer than Mary Margaret, but I could see the tears in his eyes as he held me protectively._

 _"_ _Just come home for us, okay?" He whispered in my ear._

 _"_ _Yeah, dad, I'll try." I was trying to blink back tears of my own, but when I saw Henry's heartbroken expression, I lost it. I pulled my son close and cried heartfelt sobs against his shoulder._

 _"_ _Mom, don't cry," he said with his hitching adolescent voice. "The guys'll laugh at you. Just be strong and fight hard for us."_

 _"_ _I will. I promise, Henry."_

 _"_ _I love you."_

 _"_ _I love you too. So much."_

 _"_ _Swan! Let's go!" I looked up at the new voice, coming from behind me. It was my CO, motioning me impatiently onto the battleship._

 _"_ _Just… One more second," I said meekly. The last member of the group was standing there silently in the shadow of an elm tree, her body completely hidden by darkness. I walked over to her and hesitantly reached out to her. "Regina…"_

 _Regina shrank from my touch and came out of the shadows. Her eyes were emotionless, and her shoulders were stiff and hardened. She turned to me and her eyes flickered briefly with hurt before she secured her mask and straightened her back._

 _"_ _I may not be waiting for you when you come back. If you come back."_

 _"_ _But Henry—"_

 _"_ _Oh, I won't keep Henry from you. But I meant me. I may not be waiting for you." Regina turned from me, but I could hear the pain in her voice._

 _"_ _But Regina, I love—"_

 _She whipped around, eyes blazing. "Don't you dare say that you love me, Miss Swan," she spat. "Not when you so willingly hurt me and our_ son _by going off to some godawful country and fighting some idiotic battle that may or may not cause your death. Why would you sacrifice all of this?"_

 _I looked around feeling helpless as everyone's eyes were trained on me. "I_ have _to go."_

 _"_ _Why? Are we not good enough for you?"_

 _"_ _No, Regina, it's not that—"_

 _"_ _Oh really? Then tell me, what is it?"_

 _I opened my mouth to tell her everything that was on my mind. That I wasn't strong enough. That I didn't deserve her love. That I had to prove that I_ could _win my own battles. That I had to challenge myself. That every knight had to fight for her queen. But before I could, the CO cut me off._

 _"_ _Private Swan! This boat is leaving in thirty damn seconds, whether you're on it or not."_

 _"_ _I-I'm coming." I turned to Regina, but she had turned her face away from me. I tried to face her but she held me away with one hand while the other wiped something off of her face. When she turned back to me, she was crying._

 _"_ _Go," she said. That single word conveyed all her hurt and all her love for me. It was all I needed. I took her hand in mine before she could walk away. Her hand was shaking like a leaf, although her self-control kept her from revealing it to anyone else._

 _"_ _Here," I said, shrugging off my red leather jacket. "Take this. Hold onto it for me so I know it'll be taken care of when I'm gone."_

 _She accepted it and I pressed a kiss to her cheek, closing my eyes as I felt a piece of my soul tie itself around Regina's._

 _"_ _I'll be back, Gina. I love you. Take care of Henry."_

 _Regina nodded her head once sharply and held the leather jacket close. I slipped my hand out of hers and turned towards the boat, trying to swallow the massive lump in my throat._

Tonight was different. When she came down to the docks tonight, her dark hair was dishevelled and her face already had tear tracks on it. The leather coat was already out in one hand, and she was shaking like a leaf. She almost threw herself down onto the bench and let out wailing sobs that echoed over the sound of the pounding ocean a few feet away from her.

It took me a moment before I heard Regina mumbling something. I strained my ears, trying to decipher the words she was saying.

"Please God bring her back to me," I heard her cry. For a moment I was stunned. _Was Regina_ praying _?!_ "I didn't know I needed her this much. But there's a hole where she should be and I just need her back. Please God, make sure she's safe. I need Emma Swan back."

Hearing her say my name made me let out a silent breath I didn't know I was holding. _She still loves me_.

I felt a twinge of pain from my right kneecap and winced before letting out a small groan. I cursed myself for making my presence known, but Regina was too far gone to hear me.

 _Well, it's now or never,_ I thought. Steeling myself, I pushed through the pain and limped out of the bushes I had been laying in. I took a deep breath and murmured the one word I had been dying to say for a week now.

"Regina."


	2. Regina

"Regina."

I stiffened up immediately, almost not believing my ears. But the I heard her again.

"Regina?"

I turned and I saw her standing there. Her green eyes were a kaleidoscope of emotions, ranging from wary to longing to confused to tired to elated to hurt. She had her blonde hair hanging loose around her shoulders, and a black beanie sat on her head. She looked worn for wear, but she was Emma. _My_ Emma.

"Emma?" I called out, afraid that this was just another illusion, just another nightmare that I had been having over the last six months, but for some reason I knew that this was real. Emma Swan was standing right in front of me.

I ran over to her and threw myself in her arms. She let out a surprised grunt as I caught her off guard and we both ended up on the ground, rolling around on the grassy earth. I ended up on Emma's chest and looking down at her. She had a wide smile plastered onto her face and her leaf colored eyes were full of tears yet to fall. Mine had already began to fall. Crying softly, I leaned down and kissed her soft lips, missing the feeling of her body against mine.

"I've missed you, Gina," Emma whispered as I buried my face in the crook of her neck.

"I've missed you too." Emma wrapped one arm around me and with the other one began to sit up before a sickly crack rang through the air and we both fell over as Emma gasped in pain.

"Ow. Shit!" She growled through gritted teeth.

"Oh god you're hurt!" I exclaimed, scrambling off of her and inspecting her body.

"It's fine, Gina." Emma tried to push me away, but I saw her right leg was bent at an impossible angle.

"No it's not!" I snapped. "Now stay still."

"Regina, no—!" Emma tried to fight me off of her.

But it was too late. I rolled up the pant leg of her right leg and gasped in surprise and shock. Metal and plastic caught the glare of the setting sun and my eyes blurred with tears as I observed Emma's prosthetic leg.

The blonde didn't even try to hide it as she pulled her pant leg up higher and fit a small plastic join back into place. I just sat there with my hands covering my mouth and silent tears pouring down my cheeks. Emma sat back and watched me, her eyes unreadable. Finally I gathered my wits about me and met her eyes.

"What happened?" I croaked as she pulled her jeans back over the metal monster.

"Grenade ambush," she said simply. She pushed herself up and took off her shirt, her back to me. Ugly red scars carved a lightning strike down her entire right side, disappearing under the black sports bra she wore. "I'm lucky to still have mobility in my right side. The doctors say it's a miracle I'm alive at all."

"Well, you are the product of true love and the daughter of two fairytale characters," I said, slowly getting up as well and then I reached out my hand. "May I?"

Emma only nodded her head, her expression unreadable. I very gently ran my fingers over the damaged skin, feeling every peek and crevice in her scars. Then I placed a featherlight kiss on the smallest one on her shoulder.

"At least I still have you here with me," I whispered softly. Emma turned around and cupped my face with both of her hands. I met her eyes and she looked so relieved. She kissed me passionately, putting the intensity of her emotions into the kiss. I was surprised at first but then I melted into the kiss, my body instinctively moulding itself to the body of my lover. For the first time in a very long time, I heard Emma laugh. She pulled on her shirt and let out a contented noise.

"I've missed this too," she murmured, gently stroking my cheek. I smiled up at her and nuzzled her softly, before I backed away and took her hand in mine.

"Come on," I said. "It's time to go home."

To my surprise, Emma stopped moving. I turned and gave her a sharp look but she just shook her head rapidly.

"I can't let them see me like this," she whispered.

"Like what, Emma?"

She winced and motioned to her body.

"Dear, there's nothing to be ashamed of," I murmured and walked closer to her. She almost backed away from me but I wrapped my arms around her waist. "It's just a symbol of the battle you fought."

"And what battle was that?" Emma retorted.

I opened my mouth to answer her, but before I could, the words cut off in my throat. Sighing I shook my head and gently kissed Emma's temple. "Only you can answer that."

Emma just sighed and nodded meekly, whispering, "Let's go home. But don't let Henry see me tonight. I want to surprise him tomorrow morning."

I nodded and took her hand, leading her away from the docks and towards my mansion.

As soon as I took her over the threshold of my massive white brick house, Emma stiffened up, her eyes darting around.

"Don't worry. He isn't here. He decided to stay with Mary Margaret and David tonight." I heard Emma's breath catch in her throat.

"How are they?" She managed to say after a moment. I pondered on my answer, not wanting to tell her about the constant fights David and Mary Margaret had been having over the last six months of Emma's absence, nor the panic attack just last week that Snow had had because she saw on the news a video of the newly dead soldiers, all in boxes and being paraded out of a giant plane, and was terrified that her daughter was going to be in one of them. I also didn't want to tell her that Henry was the only reason Prince Charming and Snow White are still living under the same roof. Emma must've seen something in my eyes, because her face went pale and her eyebrows knitted together.

"This has been rough on everyone, not just us," I said at last. I couldn't meet her eyes, because if I did, I was afraid that I'd tell her that Henry had been slowly falling into a depression, and his school marks had been going down hill after six months of not being able to hear Emma's voice or read any of her letters. I didn't tell her about all the times I had gotten drunk over the past six months trying to forget the hurt that Emma had cut deep into my heart, nor did I tell her about all the nightmares I had that I would wake up and the call would come in that Emma was dead.

I found myself fighting tears as Emma very gently hugged me, holding the back of my head protectively.

"I'm right here," she cooed. "I'm right here."

I kissed her deeply, not ashamed of my tearful state, and my hands began to roam her body of their own freewill. Emma's breath hitched and she leaned down to kiss my neck, throwing a small nibble in there as well and growled, "Be careful, Madame Mayor. I may not be able to stop once we start."

I grabbed a fistful of Emma's shirt and smirked before purring, "Then don't."

Emma slipped out of the shirt and with a laugh, led me upstairs to my room where we landed on the bed in a frenzy of kisses and love.

 _When I woke up I was back in my palace. The dark grey walls seemed to leer at me, and everywhere I turned, the ornate mirrors that lined my hallway glared back, showing me images of Emma at war in her khakis and with her gun at the ready. Amidst my fear, I felt a small stirring of pride of how proud and viscous this girl seemed in battle._

 _Footsteps approached me, and the images vanished from the mirrors. I whirled around to find my mother sauntering her way over to me, a cruel grin on her face._

 _"_ _What the hell do you want?" I snarled, readying my magic._

 _"_ _Oh relax, dear, you will hurt something," Cora snapped, waving her hand and making my magic drain out of me. "I came to let you know that you have visitors."_

 _Hope stirred in my dark heart. "Really? Who?"_

 _"_ _See for yourself," Cora waved at the heavy oak doors at the end of the hallway. A white knight was approaching me, his long red cape flowing behind him. There was something heavy in his arms, and his footsteps seemed to echo the weight of his soul._

 _"_ _David?" I heard myself call. "What is it that you have in your arms?"_

 _He gently placed the thing—I could now see it was a person—on the ground before stepping back. It was a white knight, like David, with the crest of Snow White on their chest plate and a full helmet on._

 _"_ _Who is this?"_

 _"_ _I… She…"_

 _"_ She _?" I ran over as fast as I could. The knight on the ground was still, not bleeding at all, and her chainmail was ripped right at her shoulder. Blood was pooling on my marble floor as I ripped off her chest plate. There was a gaping hole where her heart should've been, and blood just kept pouring out of her. Panicking, I ripped off her helmet. Blonde hair fell limply to her shoulders, and lifeless leaf green eyes stared up at me without seeing me. "Emma?_ Emma! _"_

 _I was crying, trying everything to bring her back, but all I could see was Cora's maniacal smile._

 _"_ _You did this!" I cried. "Bring her back! Emma!_ Emma! _"_

"Emma!" I screamed waking up for real. Tears were coursing down my cheeks and I was shaking terribly. I looked around trying to get my bearings. I was at home, in my bed. It was two o'clock in the morning and I was naked. _Why am I naked?_

"Regina," a weak voice called from beside me. I whipped my head around and saw my fair haired knight beside me.

"Oh, Emma!" I cried, hugging her fiercely before kissing her. "Emma, I thought I lost you."

"Regina," Emma said again looking me straight in the eye. I could see the fire of panic stirring there. "Regina, I can't move."


	3. Bedridden

I could see her in my peripheral vision, pacing in front of the bed, clothed in silk pajamas. My body was on fire, every beat of my heart hurting. I wanted to tell her not to worry, but I couldn't seem to find my voice anymore.

"Yes I _know_ what time it is, Dr. Whale," Regina snapped, her voice crisp and cold like the first frost in autumn. "But I'm _telling_ you there's something wrong with Emma! She woke me up saying she couldn't move and now she's just staring blankly straight ahead. Yes she's breathing but it's really shallow. She's making some sort of gasping noise."

My vision went black for a second and when it came back, it was no longer Regina's bedroom. _I was back in our encampment in the dry yellow dunes of the desert, watching people run past as they went about the day, with my friend, Hurteau lounged on a pile of bags beside me._

 _"_ _Everyone is always in some sort of hurry here," Hurteau said. My heart started hammering harder in my chest. I remembered this day._

 _Please don't make me see this again,_ I thought. But it was no use.

 _The next thing I knew, a grenade landed in the tent behind Hurteau and I. My only other friend in the camp turned to look, and the bomb exploded. I felt shrapnel pierce my flesh as we went sailing through the air. Soldiers everywhere started shouting. I started screaming._

"Dr. Whale?" Regina said in a very vulnerable tone. I heard her stop pacing, but I couldn't see her over those stupid yellow dunes. "Whale, she stopped breathing!"

 _I heard the bullets hit the sand with dull cracks that whizzed by me and made a corner of my brain think about how lucky I was that I wasn't getting hurt. I felt the ground shake as more grenades were set off. People surrounded me, some of them people I knew, others shooting the people I knew. I tried to call out, but my tongue was frozen in my mouth._

"Whale, she's seizing now!" Regina. She was terrified. "Emma, it's okay… Please come help her!"

 _In the distance I heard a siren, but I didn't know if it came from the desert or from Storybrooke. I saw the helicopter rise above the noise of gunshots and the dust the grenades made. Pain was my life. It was all I knew. I couldn't move, I couldn't shout. I could just see and hear. I saw the gun on the helicopter whirl into life and they took aim—right at the tent behind me. I tried to move, but it was like I was no longer in my body. All I could do was watch as the new trail of yellow dust, created by the bullets leaving the helicopter, made a straight line right for me. And then they hit._

 _The only bullet that hit me was one to my right leg, right above my ankle. The rest of the wounds on my body were created by shrapnel from that bullet and the grenades. For a moment, I didn't feel anything. Then as my right leg landed beside my head, the pain struck, a fiery poison coursing through my veins._

 _I screamed. And then I screamed some more._

"Emma, Emma, it's okay," Regina said, over the noise of my screaming. I could hear it echoing off the walls. I was screaming in real life. "It's going to be okay. I promise, I—"

" _My leg is on fire!_ " I screamed, still trying desperately to move. I heard a sharp smack noise and wondered briefly if Regina was okay. " _Oh God, please help! My leg!_ "

The pain was excruciating. Everything collided in my mind in a collage of light and then exploded outwards. The last thing I saw before I was blinded was Regina shaking me as tears coursed down her cheeks, her chocolate eyes filled with fear. Her bottom lip was split and bleeding. She was screaming right back at me, but I couldn't hear a word over the siren in my head. As I began to fade, I read her lips.

" _Emma,_ " she was saying. _"Emma, listen to my voice! I love you! Come back to me, please Emma!"_

But it was too late. I was already falling, engulfed by a white and red light.

When I woke up, I could hear a beeping sound, which I was familiar with from my time in the infirmary healing from losing my limb. For a second I thought that I had hallucinated my week spent watching Regina, but then I heard her voice beside me.

"Emma?"

I tried to turn to look at her, but found that I still couldn't move. Panic began to set in, but Regina stepped into my field of vision.

"It's going to be alright, okay?" Regina sat beside me—or rather where my missing leg should have been—and put a hand on my good knee. "You are in a neck brace because you had a seizure. I guess you have a head wound you didn't tell me about?" Regina's voice hitched as she tried to control her emotions. "Anyways, Dr. Whale says that the scar tissue on your head put pressure on your brain and that's what caused it."

"Why can't I feel anything?" I whispered, unable to get my scratchy throat to produce any noise above a whisper.

Regina opened her mouth, but before she could, Dr. Whale stepped into the room. "Well, Emma, that's a great question. You can't feel anything because your scar tissue up your back pressed on some of the nerves in your back and the swelling cut off the connection in your sleep."

Emma saw Regina flinch and looked over at her. The brunette had not faired well. There were dark circles under her eyes, and a bruise forming at the corner of her mouth. Her clothes were rumpled and wrinkled, as though she had been wearing the same thing, dress pants and a blazer, for quite some time.

"What happened to your face?" I asked in a whisper. Regina gingerly touched the bruise.

"You lashed out in your seizure. It's okay, though. It's almost healed."

"How long was I out?"

"Three days," Regina replied. "You scared us all for awhile there."

"All?" I repeated, confused for a moment before my sluggish brain made the connection. "Wait. Henry—?"

"And Mary Margaret and David are all waiting to see you."

"No," I replied before the words were out of Regina's mouth. Panic grasped my limp body and I screwed my eyes shut. "They can't see me like this."

"Why not?" Regina snapped. The anger flared up in her eyes. "What is so wrong with the way you look right now?"

"I… I can't—" I broke off as images of my past floated to the surface. Foster brothers and sisters glaring at me as I tried to keep up to the big kids, being left on the streets of Boston after I fell and twisted my ankle trying to run away with a group of kids, abusive foster parents calling me weak and orphan scum after they abused me and I was crying on the floor, curled in a ball trying to make my wounds stop hurting. _What would Henry think? What about my parents? Will they still love me? Will they call me weak?_

Regina's eyes softened and she gently placed a kiss on my forehead. "Emma, whatever is going on in that brain, you need to make it stop. Your parents and our son are going to love you no matter what. Calm down, dear."

She crawled up close and pulled my oddly limp body close. My head rested on her chest and I could hear her heartbeat. I sighed softly and relaxed my head, the only thing I could move, and fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was still leaning on someone's chest, but they weren't Regina. I could smell lavender and a sweet kind of soap, which wasn't like the brunette's cinnamon and coffee smell.

"I think I saw her move," I heard an adolescent boy say. _Henry?_

"She can't move, Henry," the woman holding me said. _Mary Margaret?_ "Her body is temporarily paralyzed from the neck down."

"Not her body, her head. She can move her head. Dr. Whale told me, that's why she can breathe on her own."

"Henry?" I finally fought through the cotton in my mouth and mumbled my son's name.

"I'm right here, Mom," Henry said. I opened my eyes and looked around. The light in the hospital room had shifted. When Regina was here, it was morning, and bright pale blue light was streaming through the window. Now, the light that came in was tangerine with the setting sun. Mary Margaret sat where Regina had sat, her arm wrapped around mine in a loving and maternal way, as if to keep me safe from all harm. Henry sat in a chair beside my bed and held my limp hand tightly. I was no longer in a neck brace.

"Where's Regina?" I asked, my tongue thick and swollen in my mouth. "How long has it been?"

"It's only been a few hours," Mary Margaret murmured. "And Regina is right here." She pointed to my left and I turned my head. The usually so tough woman was curled up on a cot, fast asleep, with a peaceful expression on her face that made Emma want to kiss her. "She never leaves."

"Never?"

"No. David or I usually go down to get her something to eat from the cafeteria. She refuses to leave your side."

"How long have you guys been coming in to see me?"

"Since we heard you were here," my mother replied, a warm smile on her face as she gently stroked my cheek. "We've been here pretty much all the time. We only leave when David gets a call that needs both of us, or to go pick up Henry or drop him off at school."

"It's been a wild ride," Henry murmured, now laying down beside Regina similar to the way Mary Margaret was holding me. My eyes fell on the prosthetic leg on the other side of Regina's cot.

"So you know then," I said, feeling my heart drop into my toes. Any minute now, Snow White will get up and walk out of the room and not come back, no longer worried about her crippled daughter. Henry and Mary Margaret followed my eyes and we all stared at the metal and plastic leg in silence.

I looked up at my mother, and her green eyes were misted over. She saw me staring at her and gave me a watery smile. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Emma," she whispered, planting a kiss on my forehead. "But I'm so glad we have you home now."

"Yeah, Mom, you're like part cyborg now!" Henry said, beaming up at me.

"You aren't disappointed?" I whispered like a three year old child, perplexed as to why my mother wasn't yelling at me for being weak. "You won't abandon me?"

"Oh, my precious daughter," Snow whispered as she held my limp body tighter to herself. "Never will I lose you again."


	4. Caring

_"_ _Little baby, hear my voice_

 _I'm beside you, O maiden fair_

 _Our young Lady, grow and see_

 _Your land, your own faithful land_

 _Sun and moon, guide us_

 _To the hour of our glory and honour_

 _Little baby, our young Lady_

 _Noble maiden fair..."_

I stirred, hearing the familiar lullaby from my days as a youth. I blinked open my bleary eyes and saw Mary Margaret sitting on the bed with Emma, softly singing the song I used to sing to her before I tried to kill her. Emma was watching her mother, her eyelids starting to droop a little.

Snow smiled, first at me and then at Emma. She hummed softly and rocked Emma's body until the fair haired woman closed her eyes and fell asleep. Only once she was finished the song did she look back up at me.

"She's been on and off all day," Mary Margaret told me in a low, affectionate rumble. "That was her third time awake since you've been sleeping."

"I used to sing that song to you," I said, sitting on Emma's other side and taking her pale, cold hand gently. "Whenever it rained and you got scared. I'd sing and you would go right to sleep, just like her."

"I guess it works with more than just women," Snow giggled. I looked at where she was pointing and saw Henry passed out in a chair, slumped over forward and almost falling off. I walked over to him and gently lifted him onto the cot that I had slept on, pulling a blanket up around his ears.

"Good night, my prince," I whispered in his ear. He grunted in response and I went to sit back down, lounging beside Emma and playing with her long blonde hair.

"You really love her, don't you, Regina?"

I bit my lip and then nodded, entwining my fingers with Emma's again. "With all my heart. But I still don't understand something."

"And what's that?" Mary Margaret asked, her eyes never leaving Emma's peaceful face.

"Why did she go off in the first place?"

Emma's mother looked up at me, surprised. "Surely you must know, Regina."

"No, I don't know, Miss Blanchard," I snapped with a cold edge in my voice. "If I did then I wouldn't be asking you now would I?"

Snow just sighed and shook her head. I lowered my head and relaxed a little. "Sorry, that was uncalled for. I just worry about her."

"I know you do," Mary Margaret said. "So do I. But I'm surprised you don't know."

"Don't know _what_?"

"She went away to battle to prove herself worthy of love."

My breath left my lungs in a huff and I just stared at the black haired woman in front of me. "You... You're sure?"

"The way she put it, and I quote, 'Every knight has to fight for her queen's hand.' Regina, don't you see how much Emma values your approval? She went away to prove to all of us that she's not weak. Not that anyone here ever thought that but her. But she's been through so much in the system and she's trained herself not to show any kind of vulnerability. She's strong but she has her flaws."

"I just need a minute alone, Mary Margaret," I whispered, my throat suddenly clenching tight. The black haired woman nodded and slipped her body out from under Emma's.

"I'll be down in the cafe if you need anything."

"Thank you."

I looked down at Emma, sleeping peacefully through all of this, and wondered how someone so beautiful, smart and funny could hide such a burden as this. My heart nearly broke in half as I imagined a toddler Emma trying so hard not to cry because of a skinned knee because if she did she would be thrown out of her foster home.

I leaned down to her face, kissed the corner of her eye and whispered in her ear, "Emma Swan, you have proven to me ten times over that you are worthy of love. And I don't ever want you to forget that you have my love, and our son's love for the rest of eternity. My brave, sweet knight."

I curled up against her and held onto her body as I fell asleep slowly, sharing my warmth with her.

When I woke up next it was to someone calling my name.

"Gina," Emma said in a sing-song voice. "Wake up."

"Go away," I mumbled, burying my head against her chest. I felt her body shake as she laughed.

"I can't because I'm, you know, temporarily paralyzed. And you're on top of me. But hey, I want to show you my new trick!"

"What new trick?" I yawned, opening my eyes and peering blearily at the blonde in front of me. Her eyes twinkled in the dark and she was smiling. "What time is it?"

"Like, nine at night."

I sat up and crawled off of her chest and sat beside her. "What is this new trick?"

"Watch this!" Rolling my eyes at her childish excitement, I watched as Emma scrunched up her face in concentration and then looked down at her hand. "Look!"

I followed her eyes and saw two of her fingers lifted off of the bed, shaking terribly as she struggled to keep them up.

"Emma, that's great! Can you feel anything in your body?"

"Well, sort of. When I woke up, my fingers were cold, and the rest of my arm is now pins and needles. But I can't feel anything else."

"It's progress nonetheless." I gently kissed her forehead, pulling away when her stomach growled violently. "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Okay, you just stay there, I'll go get you something to eat."

"I'll try to stay here, but no promises."

I glared at her sarcastic response, and she fixed me with a mock-innocent smile. I shook my head with a smile of my own and then went down into the cafeteria to get Emma something to eat.

"Jesus, Emma!" I shouted, watching the spoon go flying out of her hand. She glared at her madly spasming hand, the bowl of oatmeal spilled all over herself. "I told you to calm down and take your time."

"I can't take my time!" Emma snapped. Thunder boomed outside, the rain pouring down. Four days had passed since she had regained feeling in her hand. She now had most of her mobility back, but occasionally she had spasms like this one that made it hard to function. "These damn pins and needles made my hand go crazy and the bowl fell. I don't fucking want to deal with this anymore!"

My anger surged up from her childish behavior. "We all have to deal with things that we don't want to," I retorted. "Cleaning up after a petulant child is something I don't want to deal with, yet look at me." I blinked in shock at the words that had just left my mouth.

Emma stared at me with hurt in her eyes for a moment, before she fixed me with an angry glare. "Fine then! I didn't ask you to be here. If I'm so disappointing to you, you might as well leave."

"Emma—"

"No, Regina," Emma snarled, her eyes a green fire. "Fuck off!"

I just watched the angry blonde with my mouth open in shock, before I gathered up my wits and turned out of the door without saying anything. I headed down the hall and turned left at the nurses station.

"Excuse me, nurse," I said, catching the eye of the first nurse who looked my way. "There is a patient in Room 302 with cereal all down the front of her, and she isn't strong enough to clean herself up."

"We will get right on it," the nurse said with a smile. I nodded and then turned back around, only to find Henry standing right behind me with fear in his green eyes.

"Henry? What's wrong?"

"Mom, it's Mom. She's not in the room and her leg is gone too. I think she's trying to leave."

" _What_?" Horror coursed through me. "You are sure she isn't just in the washroom or that a doctor doesn't have her for her therapy session?"

"Her therapist was there when I went there. He was asking were so was. And the washroom door was wide open. I think she's trying to run away, Mom, and I'm scared."


End file.
